A.
The Board shall determine, from time to time, and the City shall
pay the amount which shall be contributed annually by the City as
the normal cost for current service credits, including credit for
intervening military service, of all members subsequent to the time
they are enrolled in the plan and the additional amount which shall
be contributed annually by the City toward a reserve account for disability
allowances payable to all enrolled members in order that all future
service liability may be fully funded on an actuarial basis according
to the normal methods and procedures used by the Board. In the event
the City fails to make the payments due under this section, the benefit
which such payments are funding will be actuarially reduced.
B.
The City shall also pay an annual administration assessment fee of
$20 per member enrolled in the plan and $20 per annuitant or beneficiary
receiving benefits administered by the Board. The cost of making the
valuations required by this section shall be part of the cost of the
administration of the plan and shall be paid from these fees. The
City will not otherwise be directly charged for other services rendered
in administering this plan.
C.
Additionally, the City shall pay the amount calculated as due and owing by the Board pursuant to § 2-707.27 of this chapter.
D.
The Board will certify to the City, as due and owing, for each annuitant
who retired before January 1, 1999, and is receiving benefits from
the plan, the proportional amount of his or her annuity payment not
funded by the member's accumulated deductions or municipal contributions
made on account of the member. Upon receipt from the City or PMRS
of the amount so due, the Board will authorize the plan to pay that
month's benefit. No payments will be made until the full amount
due that month has been received by the Board. Partial, incomplete
or late payments by the City or PMRS will result in a delay or reduction
of benefits paid by the Board.
E.
On January 1, 1999, the Board shall determine the unfunded liability
of all benefits under this chapter, including but not limited to liability
for member contributions credited for service prior to enrollment
in the plan for which funds have not actually been received, the municipal
liability for prior service purchased, and military service purchased
by the members. The City shall have the option to spread payment of
such unfunded liability over 25 consecutive uniform annual installments
paid quarterly. Payments made pursuant to this section shall be first
credited to fully fund the members' accounts. In the event the
City fails to make the payments due under this section, the benefits
which such payments are funding will be actuarially reduced.
F.
The Board reserves the right to consolidate some or all of the various
liabilities imposed upon the City into one bill which can be expressed
as a percentage of member compensation, or a sum definite, or a combination
of both. Partial payment of such a consolidated bill will be proportionally
allocated to the several liabilities composing that bill, except the
liability owed to members' accounts shall first be satisfied
fully.
The Board will establish an advanced payments account in the
plan for the City to make payments in excess or in advance of those
due pursuant to this section. Funds in the advanced payments account
may be used by the City to satisfy any obligations it owes to the
plan up to the amount in the account. Advanced payments, once made,
must be used to satisfy obligations of the City to the plan. Upon
the enrollment of former Plan B members, former Plan A members and
former PMRS members in the plan, the City may place the assets of
Plan B, Plan A and PMRS (including member contributions made to Plan
B, Plan A and the PMRS Plan) in the advanced payment account. If the
City wishes to so place former Plan B, Plan A and PMRS member contributions,
it will be liable for fully funding member contributions accounts
in the plan pursuant to this section. Payments, once earmarked and
credited to a member's account in the plan, may be used only
to fund benefits due to that member.
A.
Former PMRS members shall receive no service credits for prior employment
with the City, except as provided in the sections of this chapter
pertaining to return to service and purchase of prior service or military
service credit.[1]
B.
Former Plan A members, former Plan B members and former PMRS members
shall be credited with the credited service and accumulated deductions
to which they are properly entitled under the terms of Plan A, Plan
B and the PMRS Plan as of the date of their enrollment in the plan,
subject to the terms of this chapter.
For the purposes of the sections in this chapter requiring filing
of documents by the member with the Board, the date of filing will
be deemed to be the date postmarked, if deposited and mailed by first-class
service or better by the United States Postal Service. If delivered
by any other means to the Board, the date filed shall be the date
received in the offices of the Board. A written application or communication
made by a member to the City shall not be deemed filed with the Board
until it has been received by a member of the Board. An oral application
or communication shall not be deemed a filing.
A.
The amount due from a member for any purchase of credited service
or payment of debt will be certified by the Board in conformity with
methods of calculation approved by the actuary and may be paid in
a lump sum within 30 days after billing or through salary deductions
amortized with regular interest through a repayment period of one
or two but not more than three years, with regular interest charged
through the repayment period chosen by the member and approved by
the Board.
B.
All retirement allowances and annuity payments due under this chapter
shall be paid in 12 uniform monthly installments, payable on the last
day of each calendar month.
A member eligible to receive a superannuation retirement allowance
or a disability retirement allowance shall file with the Board or
the Board's designee a written statement, duly attested, setting
forth on what date he or she desires to be retired. Said application
shall make the retirement allowance effective on the date so specified,
if such application was filed in the office of the Board before the
date specified in the application and before the death of the member,
but the date so specified in the application shall not be more than
90 days after the date of the filing. A member who files an application
90 days or less after terminating service shall have an effective
retirement date of the date service was terminated or the date on
which the member becomes eligible for a retirement benefit. When a
member files an application more than 90 days after terminating service,
the effective retirement date shall be when the application was filed
or the date on which the member becomes eligible for a retirement
benefit.
Upon the enrollment of the former Plan A members, former Plan
B members and former PMRS members, the City will certify to the Board
their names, addresses, social security numbers, sexes, birth dates,
dates of enrollment, credited service received, member contributions
made, rates of contribution, and any debts owed to Plan A, Plan B
and the PMRS Plan.
The retirement allowance and the contributions of members to
the fund and all contributions returned to the members under this
chapter shall not be subject to attachment or execution and shall
not be the subject of assignment or transfer except to a duly designated
beneficiary or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction.
The Board retains the right to correct any errors in collection
of contributions or payment of benefits and awarding of credited service
or amount credited to the accumulated deduction accounts, excess interest
accounts or other accounts, whether caused by mistakes of fact or
law, regardless of the fault or lack thereof of the members, the City
or Board or whether the errors were made under this chapter or Plan
A, Plan B or the PMRS Plan prior to enrollment in the plan.
Matters of procedure and substance not covered in this chapter
shall be as set forth in Act 15 of 1974,[1] as it shall from time to time be amended. In all cases
of conflict, Act 15 of 1974, as it may be amended, and the regulations
promulgated thereunder shall control over the terms of this chapter.
All references to the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement Law incorporate
the regulations promulgated thereunder and any amendments enacted
subsequent to the execution of this chapter.
[1]
Editor's Note: The Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement Law,
53 P.S. § 881.101 et seq.
The City agrees that all reports and documents relating to the
fund which it may prepare and deliver hereunder shall be confidential
and shall become the property of the Board and shall not be published,
circulated, or used in any manner by the City without the prior written
approval of the Board.
A Police Pension Board shall be appointed to administer the
plan. The Police Pension Board so appointed shall have the power and
authority, by a majority of its participants, to do all acts and to
execute, acknowledge and deliver all instruments necessary to implement
and effectuate the purpose of this plan. The Police Pension Board
may delegate authority to act on its behalf to any persons it deems
appropriate.
The Police Pension Board shall consist of seven participants.
The Police Pension Board shall consist of three persons appointed
by the City, three persons appointed by the representative of the
members' collective bargaining unit, and a neutral person appointed
by a majority of the first six representatives. Each participant may
be removed at any time, with or without cause, by the respective party
that appointed the participant, either the City or collective bargaining
unit, provided that the neutral participant may only be removed by
the majority vote of the Board. Vacancies on the Police Pension Board
shall be filled by the City or collective bargaining unit for their
respective three appointments; provided, however, that the remaining
participants of the Police Pension Board shall have full power to
act pending the filling of such vacancies. The Board itself, if there
is a vacancy of the neutral participant, by majority vote, shall appoint
such neutral Board participant.
The Board shall have full power and authority to do whatever
shall, in its judgment, be reasonably necessary for the proper administration
and operation of the plan. The interpretation or construction placed
upon any term or provision of the plan by the Board or any action
of the Board taken in good faith shall be final and conclusive upon
all parties hereto, whether members, designated beneficiaries or other
persons concerned.
A.
By way
of specification and not limitation and except as specifically limited
hereafter, the Board is authorized:
(1)
To construe this plan;
(2)
To determine all questions affecting the eligibility of any
member to participate herein;
(3)
To compute the amount and source of any benefit payable hereunder
to any member or designated beneficiary;
(4)
To authorize any and all disbursements;
(5)
To prescribe any procedure to be followed by any member and/or
other person filing any application or election;
(6)
To prepare and distribute, in such manner as may be required
by law or as the Board deems appropriate, information explaining the
plan;
(7)
To require from the City or any member such information as shall
be necessary for the proper administration of the plan; and
(8)
To appoint and retain any individual to assist in the administration
of the plan, including such legal, clerical, accounting and actuarial
services as may be required by any applicable law or laws.
B.
The
Board shall have no power to add to, subtract from or modify the terms
of the plan or change or add to any benefits provided by the plan
or to waive or fail to apply any requirements of eligibility for benefits
under the plan. Further, the Board shall have no power to adopt, amend,
or terminate the plan, to select or appoint any trustee or to determine
or require any contributions to the plan, said powers being exclusively
reserved to the City.
The Police Pension Board may organize itself in any manner deemed
appropriate to effectuate its purposes hereunder, subject to the following:
A.
The Board shall act by a majority of its participants at the time
in office, and such action may be taken either by vote at a meeting
or in writing without a meeting.
B.
The Board shall, from time to time, appoint a Chairperson, a Secretary
who may but need not be a Board participant, and such other agents
as it may deem advisable.
C.
The Board may, from time to time, authorize any one or more of its
participants to execute any document or documents, including any application,
request, certificate, notice, consent, waiver or direction, and shall
include in its minutes the name or names of the participant or participants
so authorized. In the absence of a designation, the Chairperson shall
be deemed to be so authorized. Any trustee or other fiduciary appointed
hereunder shall accept and be fully protected in relying upon any
document executed by the designated participant or participants (or
the Chairperson in the absence of a designation) as representing a
valid action by the Board until the Board shall file with such fiduciary
a written revocation of such designation.
D.
The Board or its delegate shall maintain and keep such records as
are necessary for the efficient operation of the plan or as may be
required by any applicable law, regulation or ruling and shall provide
for the preparation and filing of such forms or reports as may be
required to be filed with any governmental agency or department and
with the members and/or other persons entitled to benefits under the
plan.
[Amended 3-23-2004 by Ord. No. 6-2004]
A.
The Board shall serve without compensation for services. All reasonable
expenses incident to the functioning of the Board, including but not
limited to fees of accountants, counsel, actuaries and other specialists
and other costs of administering the plan, may be paid from the plan
to the extent permitted under applicable law and not otherwise paid
by the City.
B.
The plan administrator is also authorized to pay for authorized expenses
from plan funds. Where documentation is inadequate, the administrative
expense(s) will be disallowed. An authorized expense is one which
meets all three of the following criteria:
(1)
The cost must be directly associated with the plan;
(2)
The plan administrator, in its fiduciary role, must monitor
the service provided to ensure the expense(s) is necessary, reasonable,
and benefits the plan; and
(3)
All administrative expenses must be detailed, item by item and,
where necessary, hour by hour.
C.
The following items are examples of what will be considered appropriate if they meet the qualifications listed in Subsection B above:
(1)
Reasonable compensation to trustee or other custodian.
(2)
Legitimate travel and education expenses for pension plan officials.
(3)
Investment costs, which would include the cost of obtaining
authorized investments and investment management fees.
(4)
Accounting expenses.
(5)
Premiums for insurance coverages.
(6)
Reasonable and necessary counsel fees incurred for advice or
to defend the fund, but this does not include counsel fees to defend
the fund's trustee or the City.
No participant of the Police Pension Board, any other plan administrator,
the enrolled actuary, or any other person involved in the administration
of the plan shall be liable to any person on account of any act or
failure to act which is taken or omitted to be taken in good faith
in performing his respective duties under the terms of this plan.
To the extent permitted by law, the City shall obtain public liability
insurance on behalf of each participant of the Board, each successor
and each of such participant's heirs, executors and administrators,
and the Board's delegates and appointees (other than any person,
bank, firm or corporation which is independent of the City and which
renders services to the plan for a fee) covering such liabilities
and expenses permitted under such insurance policy, including reasonable
counsel fees, reasonably incurred in any action, suit or proceeding
to which he is or may be made a party by reason of being or having
been a participant, delegate or appointee of the Board, except in
matters involving criminal liability or intentional or willful misconduct.
If insurance covers such act, the plan, if permitted by law, shall
be liable for the extent of any deductible amount under the insurance
coverage.
The Board shall review and approve or deny an application for
retirement benefits within 35 days following receipt thereof. Any
denial of an application for retirement benefits shall be in writing
and shall specify the reason for such denial.
Any person whose application for retirement benefits is denied,
who questions the amount of benefit paid, who believes a benefit should
have commenced which did not so commence or who has some other claim
arising under the plan ("claimant") shall first seek a resolution
of such claim under the procedure hereinafter set forth.
A.
Any claimant shall file a notice of the claim with the Board which
shall fully describe the nature of the claim. The Board shall review
the claim and make an initial determination approving or denying the
claim.
B.
If the claim is denied in whole or in part, the Board shall, within
90 days (or such other period as may be established by applicable
law) from the time the application is received, mail notice of such
denial to the claimant. Such ninety-day period may be extended by
the Board if special circumstances so require for up to 90 additional
days by the Board's delivering notice of such extension to the
claimant within the first ninety-day period. Any notice hereunder
shall be written in a manner calculated to be understood by the claimant
and, if a notice of denial, shall set forth:
D.
Any notice of a claim questioning the amount of a benefit in pay
status shall be filed within 90 days following the date of the first
payment which would be adjusted if the claim is granted unless the
Board allows a later filing for good cause shown.
E.
A claimant who does not submit a notice of a claim or a notice requesting
a review of a denial of a claim within the time limitations specified
above shall be deemed to have waived such claim or right to review.
